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Georges St-Pierre again calls for the end of round breaks in MMA

"I believe MMA should not [have] rounds," St-Pierre told MMAjunkie.com in advance of his pay-per-view headliner on Nov. 16 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden arena. "A regular fight, for example, should be 15 minutes nonstop, and a championship fight should be 25 minutes nonstop."

It's been over a decade since his vision was a reality. Time limits were replaced by rounds at UFC 21, which took place in 1999 at the height of MMA's days as a fringe sport sacked by serious political opposition. In 2000, the unified rules were utilized by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, which was the first athletic commission to sanction MMA.

Among them, non-title fights require three five-minute rounds, while title fights get five five-minute rounds.

Additional rules and protocols have appeased adversaries and allowed the sport to enter the mainstream, though some of them, such as the 10-point must system for scoring and the banning of knees to a downed opponent, remain a source of griping among hardcore fans.

St-Pierre's wrestling-centric style often gets the same reception from the MMA faithful, though the champ believes the system he currently works within makes it harder to deliver excitement.

"I think by doing rounds, we're breaking the momentum of the fight and making the fight different," he said. "I think the rounds have been added in the past because they want it to be more similar to boxing, but I believe in MMA, we are our own sport. We should not try to copy any other sport.

"If you want to see two guys fighting each other and see who's the best man, let them fight. Don't stop the fight until it's finished. If there were no rounds, I believe there would be way more finishes."

St-Pierre (24-2 MMA, 18-2 UFC), who first called for time-limit fights in April, also wants to see improved drug testing implemented across the board for athletes. He currently is enrolled with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency, which utilizes out-of-competition testing, though a behind-the-scenes snafu with Hendricks (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) and his reps nixed his participation.

The longtime welterweight champion, whose fight with "Big Rigg" is his ninth attempted title defense, said enhanced testing will bring MMA closer to bigger mainstream sports. Most of them employ periods or breaks. But he wants to see action to its natural end, or at least as close as possible.

"The fight would be way more fantastic, and the show will be better," St-Pierre said. "That's what I would change about the rules."

Not fighter bashing. I know, as much as he does, that not having round breaks would benefit his kind of style the most. I can get on board with Pride style rounds. The first round being ten minutes, then five minutes after that.

Not fighter bashing. I know, as much as he does, that not having round breaks would benefit his kind of style the most. I can get on board with Pride style rounds. The first round being ten minutes, then five minutes after that.

Exactly. The risk of getting clipped trying to get another td in another round is just too much for him.

Shields is a blanketer who lands pillowfists from the top while grappling only for position.

How does that explain Jake having twice as many submission victories as Georges?

rh

All manner of men came to work for the News: everything from wild young Turks who wanted to rip the world in half and start all over again -- to tired, beer-bellied old hacks who wanted nothing more than to live out their days in peace before a bunch of lunatics ripped the world in half.

How does that explain Jake having twice as many submission victories as Georges?

rh

At top level competition?

Shields is a position grappler who is intent on lying on top until a better position presents itself rather than working for damage. It's obvious that GSP is a ground and pounder rather than a "blanket". Shields is nowhere near the same grappler he was years ago and certainly not the same fighter that he was before his father's passing.

Of course, Shields would beat GSP in submission grappling. But, we were not talking about ADCC, we were talking about MMA. GSP does not fit in the category of a blanket, in my opinion.